please make the sims in sims 4 more alive

Comments

I enjoy the game as it is, honestly. Real life has plenty of drama for me. But then again, I don't like soap operas or reality shows either.

I despise reality TV shows. I haven't watched a soap opera in twenty years because it is just same drama with the same people unless it is a telenovela then we are talking about something different...lol

Anyway, making the sims more alive doesn't always have to be about drama. Good Sims should never want to be around evil sims. An evil sim should not even be able to talk to them without getting a negative reaction and vice versa. An attraction system would be nice. I feel like I can marry any sims with any other sim even if they have conflicting traits. It should be much harder for those sims to get along not to mention fall in love.

In sims 2, Sims could be attracted to each other on the physical level such as like each other's hair color and skill level but when they speak they could have different interest level and talking would decrease the relationship. The sims in Sims 4 are very one note and everything happens based on 9 emotions that all the sims have no matter what the trait.

I don’t agree. The game shouldn’t impose reactions purely based on traits the game knows are there but the sims are not (yet). That’s just like in real life. How about the wolf in sheep’s clothing? How about the naive sweet person who simply can’t imagine someone has bad intentions? There’s no way you can create your own story in the game when the game already decided for you what will happen.

I'm very sorry for Your friend. I think that many of us have traumatic, bad experiences.

But games are full of tragedies and brutality. I'm a private teacher of Polish language and literature and most of my students (every age) playing in brutal games and the parents do not know about that (each, most of them do know really, but they do not reacting)...

The Sims is a funny, cartoonish game - always was. Maybe the deaths of Sims were not very funny, but most of their "adventures" were more like "Tom&Jerry style violence, like hit him with this huge hammer from Your pocket". This is not the problem, I think.

Ech, I have problem with English language... I think, that the major reason for Ts4 "emptiness" is the situation, when the game starts be more "alive". There is no problem for parents to see their children watch brutal cartoon (it's only a cartoon, no problem), but when the kids starts to watch movies, for example soup operas with "adult dramas" like complicated romances, cheats, divorces et cetera, the parents think, that this is not good for the kids. Maybe this is a reason, why EA do not want to make "deeper" life simulation, cancel some older solutions and cut the relationships between Sims to minimum.
But for me this is a dead end for this game and only brings more damages. Because still we have life simulation, still we can cheats but without consequences of ours decisions the results are even worse - for younger ones and for us, adult players, who wants to play with life in our own way and do not die from boredom.
To feel happiness You must feel some pain too to see the real difference, BTW.

Yes, it (the fire, and the following events) were a traumatic experience- and not something the sims creators (or players) should turn into a joke. "Tom & Jerry violence" is not something funny either- it 'normalizes' violence. If people can't have adventures without violence then that is really telling about mentality.

And, by your logic... Saying that having cheating (spouses/partners) in the game "what a lesson for younger players? This is a family picture?". The same goes for violence. You say "when the kids starts to watch movies, for example soap operas with "adult dramas" like complicated romances, cheats, divorces et cetera, the parents think, that this is not good for the kids." Think about that. What lesson is it for kids (or anyone), when you allow violence?

And, lastly, "To feel happiness You must feel some pain too to see the real difference, BTW"... Not true. I feel sorry for those who think this way. You feel happiness because of happiness- not because of pain. When you feel pain, that is pain. Happiness does not come from pain (that is an unhealthy mentality). And, more often than not, pain steals happiness- it does not give happiness, nor does it make someone recognize happiness... That saying comes from unhealthy-minded people who want that to be a thing. The two things are entirely separate.

As for making the game more 'alive'.... That doesn't mean adding in mentally unhealthy things. A game can add liveliness without having violence, cheating on spouses, and other unhealthy things. The creators need actual creativity though. The game feels empty because it is repetitive, without any actual creative insight. Creative isn't doing what's been done before (ie: violence, cheating, etc.). Creativity is creating something (truly) new; showing people how to have fun with 'life' (not meaning 'realistic', but creative- like the magical wishing wells we have in game)... Give them something truly fascinating, and engaging. That type of creating shows creativity, and adds real interest. There are (sadly) thousands of other violent, vile 'games' out there- so EA/Maxis team are not standing out at all, nor is the game. I love the sims, because it has potential (in the right hands).

I don’t agree a game that enables you to play with violence and disaster is toxic. Whenever there’s real violence, people turn away from ‘entertaining’ misfortune because it comes too close (like after 9/11, and during the depression), it’s too confronting then. I once saw footage of a fire in a nightclub and it was absolutely horrible, there is no doubt about that (made me realize to never underestimate the speed of fire). On the other hand: fires do happen, people drown or get electrocuted. Playing that in a game does not equal promoting it or thinking too lightly of the real stuff. There is no simulating life when you avoid the misery. Misery and misfortune and cheating are as much a part of life as rainbows and roses are, as is death.

I would rather a game not feed me sugar. The Sims is pretty mild and always has been compared to other type games that have a lot of violence, some with a lot of blood, and or things done that I would hope I would never do in real life. But I think 'The Sims' should mimic life, and life isn't all sugar. Ever heard the old term, gag a maggot? It means when something taste awful, and or is too much, or over the top, etc.

I would at least like to see this series return to it's roots and mimic real life rather than utopia. And if we can't handle some cheating in the game, a face slap, someone laughing at another Sim, a few hysterical tears, a few fires, a few lightening strikes, a few accidents, a few arguments, then we might as well burn all the books, too.

"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.

There is no simulating life when you avoid the misery. Misery and misfortune and cheating are as much a part of life as rainbows and roses are, as is death.

Have to disagree. Life is not misery, misfortune and cheating. Those things are the opposite of life (and by life I mean vitality, liveliness). And yes, again, when people are making fun of burning sims (or killing them) in horrific ways, they are mentally unhealthy, and they are making light of tragedy.

To address burning books (from the other simmers comment). Yes. I do think maybe books should be burned, because they really are vile. I never used to think that way (about burning books), and I really thought that people would never make such gross literature (or books for entertainment)... but after having been exposed to far too many vile things I have since changed my mind- and realized that I would not have some of the added trauma that I have today if I had not ever seen/read those things. The thought of having a life where I'd never been exposed to those things, and the thought of a world where they don't/can't even exist, makes me unbelievably happy.... Which is why I don't want them in a game either.

There is no simulating life when you avoid the misery. Misery and misfortune and cheating are as much a part of life as rainbows and roses are, as is death.

Have to disagree. Life is not misery, misfortune and cheating. Those things are the opposite of life (and by life I mean vitality, liveliness). And yes, again, when people are making fun of burning sims (or killing them) in horrific ways, they are mentally unhealthy, and they are making light of tragedy.

To address burning books (from the other simmers comment). Yes. I do think maybe books should be burned, because they really are vile. I never used to think that way (about burning books), and I really thought that people would never make such gross literature (or books for entertainment)... but after having been exposed to far too many vile things I have since changed my mind- and realized that I would not have some of the added trauma that I have today if I had not ever seen/read those things. The thought of having a life where I'd never been exposed to those things, and the thought of a world where they don't/can't even exist, makes me unbelievably happy.... Which is why I don't want them in a game either.

Mentally unhealthy? I'm mentally unhealthy because I like some deviant play? Sims aren't real for one thing. I am able to distinquish, Sim on fire, funny, real person on fire, No, not funny, save them. Sim slapping someone for cheating, funny, not real life, real person slapping someone for cheating, not funny, sad, and not good for either one of them. The brain is amazing it can distinuqish between fantasy and real life and has a moral compass of what is funny in pixels and what is not funny in real life. A healthy person can distinquish between the two without cringing.

Burn books? You know there is an age for what type books one should read? And or movies one should watch, and five years old, no, no R rated or maybe not even PG13 movies.

The difference between my moral compass and EA's? Hey kids tell us about how you made your friends and put them in the game and 'got even with them'. That's EA's new ad.

My moral compass, no, I have never made anyone I know in real life to put in game to get even with them. Even I have my principles. Now, who has the moral highground?

"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.

Mentally unhealthy? I'm mentally unhealthy because I like some deviant play? Sims aren't real for one thing. I am able to distinquish, Sim on fire, funny, real person on fire, No, not funny, save them. Sim slapping someone for cheating, funny, not real life, real person slapping someone for cheating, not funny, sad, and not good for either one of them. The brain is amazing it can distinuqish between fantasy and real life and has a moral compass of what is funny in pixels and what is not funny in real life. A healthy person can distinquish between the two without cringing.

Burn books? You know there is an age for what type books one should read? And or movies one should watch, and five years old, no, no R rated or maybe not even PG13 movies.

The difference between my moral compass and EA's? Hey kids tell us about how you made your friends and put them in the game and 'got even with them'. That's EA's new ad.

My moral compass, no, I have never made anyone I know in real life to put in game to get even with them. Even I have my principles. Now, who has the moral highground?

You are still arguing for violence... so there's that (if you want to get into moral high ground). I'm not going to argue. And distinguishing sims vs real life has nothing to do with desire for violence as entertainment. The desire for violence is still there (in a game). My statement stands, as does the attempt to try and educate people about how people (such as my friend who died from a serious fire) feel about the simmers (and EA) laughing about burning sims, and, worse yet, doing it for fun.

I won't argue anymore. I don't want this to turn into some weird flame war, just because I was asking people to think of real victims- who are upset that people find this funny. Unfortunately, it turned into a defense- rather than respectful empathy.

The difference between my moral compass and EA's? Hey kids tell us about how you made your friends and put them in the game and 'got even with them'. That's EA's new ad.

My moral compass, no, I have never made anyone I know in real life to put in game to get even with them. Even I have my principles. Now, who has the moral highground?

It never ceases to amaze me how some can totally misrepresent things to suit their own narrative. The purpose of the new ad is to reach out to those who may be dealing with challenges and allow those players to feel comfortable with whatever scenario that brings them pain in real life. Not to exact revenge on anyone.

You are still arguing for violence... so there's that (if you want to get into moral high ground). I'm not going to argue. And distinguishing sims vs real life has nothing to do with desire for violence as entertainment. The desire for violence is still there (in a game). My statement stands, as does the attempt to try and educate people about how people (such as my friend who died from a serious fire) feel about the simmers (and EA) laughing about burning sims, and, worse yet, doing it for fun.

I won't argue anymore. I don't want this to turn into some weird flame war, just because I was asking people to think of real victims- who are upset that people find this funny. Unfortunately, it turned into a defense- rather than respectful empathy.

Says the person who argues for burning books... And we all know where that one ends up, don't we?

How did this discussion come round to the sims being inappropriate? The sims 4 of all sims games at that.

Unfortunately in real life, sometimes bad/horrible/ tragic things happen. Life is not a bed of roses and the sims as a life simulator should reflect that.

By the logic of violence shouldn't Be in the sims, it shouldn't be in any video game ever. Video games dont Cause violence, people do irrespective of a video game.

I completely agree.

Those who try to shield themselves from 'dangerous' concepts by demanding that they not be in games or books, are only hurting themselves and the freedoms of others... And eventually they damage society as well.

The difference between my moral compass and EA's? Hey kids tell us about how you made your friends and put them in the game and 'got even with them'. That's EA's new ad.

My moral compass, no, I have never made anyone I know in real life to put in game to get even with them. Even I have my principles. Now, who has the moral highground?

It never ceases to amaze me how some can totally misrepresent things to suit their own narrative. The purpose of the new ad is to reach out to those who may be dealing with challenges and allow those players to feel comfortable with whatever scenario that brings them pain in real life. Not to exact revenge on anyone.

Video games are not a healthy substitute for therapy. I don’t care how much comfort someone gets from a video game, that doesn’t enable the studio developing the game to prey on those traumas in order to sell copies of their game. It’s amazing how marketing can make predatory ads like that appear normal. It’s advertising a bad message that this is more than a video game but also some sort of therapeutic thing. Hardly a stance this studio should be peddling to kids (who more often than not vastly exaggerate their “trauma”).

There is no simulating life when you avoid the misery. Misery and misfortune and cheating are as much a part of life as rainbows and roses are, as is death.

Have to disagree. Life is not misery, misfortune and cheating. Those things are the opposite of life (and by life I mean vitality, liveliness). And yes, again, when people are making fun of burning sims (or killing them) in horrific ways, they are mentally unhealthy, and they are making light of tragedy.

To address burning books (from the other simmers comment). Yes. I do think maybe books should be burned, because they really are vile. I never used to think that way (about burning books), and I really thought that people would never make such gross literature (or books for entertainment)... but after having been exposed to far too many vile things I have since changed my mind- and realized that I would not have some of the added trauma that I have today if I had not ever seen/read those things. The thought of having a life where I'd never been exposed to those things, and the thought of a world where they don't/can't even exist, makes me unbelievably happy.... Which is why I don't want them in a game either.

I didn’t say it is life, I said it’s part of life. And actually misfortune makes life more vital, more lively, deeper. You enjoy the good times even more when there are also bad times.

As for burning books: there’s literally not much more vile and dangerous than burning books.

The difference between my moral compass and EA's? Hey kids tell us about how you made your friends and put them in the game and 'got even with them'. That's EA's new ad.

My moral compass, no, I have never made anyone I know in real life to put in game to get even with them. Even I have my principles. Now, who has the moral highground?

It never ceases to amaze me how some can totally misrepresent things to suit their own narrative. The purpose of the new ad is to reach out to those who may be dealing with challenges and allow those players to feel comfortable with whatever scenario that brings them pain in real life. Not to exact revenge on anyone.

What narrative? The one where recognizable real life people are exposed without giving permission, without being warned even, because their 16 yr old relative was given the opportunity to give their bitter and one sided vision on things in a world wide ad? There never is one truth, every coin has two sides. It’s unbelievable a gaming company invites young people to present just one side of that coin behind the backs of their parents/siblings/school mates/whatever with only one actual goal: to sell their game. That is my narrative and you’re welcome to disagree but that doesn’t make it “misrepresenting” per se. It just means you see it differently. “Getting back at” was literally in that casting ad. How is that not revenge?

The difference between my moral compass and EA's? Hey kids tell us about how you made your friends and put them in the game and 'got even with them'. That's EA's new ad.

My moral compass, no, I have never made anyone I know in real life to put in game to get even with them. Even I have my principles. Now, who has the moral highground?

It never ceases to amaze me how some can totally misrepresent things to suit their own narrative. The purpose of the new ad is to reach out to those who may be dealing with challenges and allow those players to feel comfortable with whatever scenario that brings them pain in real life. Not to exact revenge on anyone.

Video games are not a healthy substitute for therapy. I don’t care how much comfort someone gets from a video game, that doesn’t enable the studio developing the game to prey on those traumas in order to sell copies of their game. It’s amazing how marketing can make predatory ads like that appear normal. It’s advertising a bad message that this is more than a video game but also some sort of therapeutic thing. Hardly a stance this studio should be peddling to kids (who more often than not vastly exaggerate their “trauma”).

I wasn't commenting on the effectiveness of video games as therapy. Just that the purpose of the ad was not to entice players to play in order to seek revenge on their adversaries.

The difference between my moral compass and EA's? Hey kids tell us about how you made your friends and put them in the game and 'got even with them'. That's EA's new ad.

My moral compass, no, I have never made anyone I know in real life to put in game to get even with them. Even I have my principles. Now, who has the moral highground?

It never ceases to amaze me how some can totally misrepresent things to suit their own narrative. The purpose of the new ad is to reach out to those who may be dealing with challenges and allow those players to feel comfortable with whatever scenario that brings them pain in real life. Not to exact revenge on anyone.

What narrative? The one where recognizable real life people are exposed without giving permission, without being warned even, because their 16 yr old relative was given the opportunity to give their bitter and one sided vision on things in a world wide ad? There never is one truth, every coin has two sides. It’s unbelievable a gaming company invites young people to present just one side of that coin behind the backs of their parents/siblings/school mates/whatever with only one actual goal: to sell their game. That is my narrative and you’re welcome to disagree but that doesn’t make it “misrepresenting” per se. It just means you see it differently. “Getting back at” was literally in that casting ad. How is that not revenge?

For me "getting back at" is as simple as being allowed to live your life the way you want to and not letting negative, unsupportive forces hold you back. Not tormenting those who refuse to accept you as you are. So I agree we do see it differently. Living well is the best revenge.

The difference between my moral compass and EA's? Hey kids tell us about how you made your friends and put them in the game and 'got even with them'. That's EA's new ad.

My moral compass, no, I have never made anyone I know in real life to put in game to get even with them. Even I have my principles. Now, who has the moral highground?

It never ceases to amaze me how some can totally misrepresent things to suit their own narrative. The purpose of the new ad is to reach out to those who may be dealing with challenges and allow those players to feel comfortable with whatever scenario that brings them pain in real life. Not to exact revenge on anyone.

Video games are not a healthy substitute for therapy. I don’t care how much comfort someone gets from a video game, that doesn’t enable the studio developing the game to prey on those traumas in order to sell copies of their game. It’s amazing how marketing can make predatory ads like that appear normal. It’s advertising a bad message that this is more than a video game but also some sort of therapeutic thing. Hardly a stance this studio should be peddling to kids (who more often than not vastly exaggerate their “trauma”).

I wasn't commenting on the effectiveness of video games as therapy. Just that the purpose of the ad was not to entice players to play in order to seek revenge on their adversaries.

Well she does have a point about “getting revenge” or whatever being explicitly part of the casting call. Hard to deny that.

The video itself is to entice people to buy this game because it will help their problems. That’s the message they are sending. Not “hey this game is so much fun!” Instead it’s along the lines of “I was bullied, I did not fit in, I was different and Sims fixed that”. I don’t care what they were trying to do, because what they actually did was make an ad in incredibly poor taste that’s ONLY purpose is to manipulate emotionally fragile people and especially kids into thinking this game will make them happy and fix their self-proclaimed terrible lives. Terrible message to send!

Mentally unhealthy? I'm mentally unhealthy because I like some deviant play? Sims aren't real for one thing. I am able to distinquish, Sim on fire, funny, real person on fire, No, not funny, save them. Sim slapping someone for cheating, funny, not real life, real person slapping someone for cheating, not funny, sad, and not good for either one of them. The brain is amazing it can distinuqish between fantasy and real life and has a moral compass of what is funny in pixels and what is not funny in real life. A healthy person can distinquish between the two without cringing.

Burn books? You know there is an age for what type books one should read? And or movies one should watch, and five years old, no, no R rated or maybe not even PG13 movies.

The difference between my moral compass and EA's? Hey kids tell us about how you made your friends and put them in the game and 'got even with them'. That's EA's new ad.

My moral compass, no, I have never made anyone I know in real life to put in game to get even with them. Even I have my principles. Now, who has the moral highground?

You are still arguing for violence... so there's that (if you want to get into moral high ground). I'm not going to argue. And distinguishing sims vs real life has nothing to do with desire for violence as entertainment. The desire for violence is still there (in a game). My statement stands, as does the attempt to try and educate people about how people (such as my friend who died from a serious fire) feel about the simmers (and EA) laughing about burning sims, and, worse yet, doing it for fun.

I won't argue anymore. I don't want this to turn into some weird flame war, just because I was asking people to think of real victims- who are upset that people find this funny. Unfortunately, it turned into a defense- rather than respectful empathy.

I'm sorry you had a friend who died in a fire. However, I don't project myself onto games. I have always believed that is a dangerous place to go in the mind. I don't project what I'm feeling or who I am into a game. I never have, and hopefully I never will. These Sims aren't real people. They aren't me or you, and what happens to them has nothing in the world to do with you or me, or my mom, dad, siblings, or friends or even any enemy I might have. They aren't real, so I hope I never look at them as real, or 'pretend' they are real and project myself into them. That is sad from a physicologal view. And rather dangerous in my opinion and a dark place in the mind. Cartoons are funny. I learned a long time ago, if we don't learn to laugh at ourselves, and even at what happens in life we will be afriad and scared of everything. There are no safe spaces, life happens.

"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.

The difference between my moral compass and EA's? Hey kids tell us about how you made your friends and put them in the game and 'got even with them'. That's EA's new ad.

My moral compass, no, I have never made anyone I know in real life to put in game to get even with them. Even I have my principles. Now, who has the moral highground?

It never ceases to amaze me how some can totally misrepresent things to suit their own narrative. The purpose of the new ad is to reach out to those who may be dealing with challenges and allow those players to feel comfortable with whatever scenario that brings them pain in real life. Not to exact revenge on anyone.

Video games are not a healthy substitute for therapy. I don’t care how much comfort someone gets from a video game, that doesn’t enable the studio developing the game to prey on those traumas in order to sell copies of their game. It’s amazing how marketing can make predatory ads like that appear normal. It’s advertising a bad message that this is more than a video game but also some sort of therapeutic thing. Hardly a stance this studio should be peddling to kids (who more often than not vastly exaggerate their “trauma”).

I wasn't commenting on the effectiveness of video games as therapy. Just that the purpose of the ad was not to entice players to play in order to seek revenge on their adversaries.

Well she does have a point about “getting revenge” or whatever being explicitly part of the casting call. Hard to deny that.

The video itself is to entice people to buy this game because it will help their problems. That’s the message they are sending. Not “hey this game is so much fun!” Instead it’s along the lines of “I was bullied, I did not fit in, I was different and Sims fixed that”. I don’t care what they were trying to do, because what they actually did was make an ad in incredibly poor taste that’s ONLY purpose is to manipulate emotionally fragile people and especially kids into thinking this game will make them happy and fix their self-proclaimed terrible lives. Terrible message to send!

I totally agree the video is to entice people to buy the game. That's the point of marketing.

Where we differ is my perception is that the ad is offering a refuge when real life becomes overwhelming. A temporary escape while you refuel.

The difference between my moral compass and EA's? Hey kids tell us about how you made your friends and put them in the game and 'got even with them'. That's EA's new ad.

My moral compass, no, I have never made anyone I know in real life to put in game to get even with them. Even I have my principles. Now, who has the moral highground?

It never ceases to amaze me how some can totally misrepresent things to suit their own narrative. The purpose of the new ad is to reach out to those who may be dealing with challenges and allow those players to feel comfortable with whatever scenario that brings them pain in real life. Not to exact revenge on anyone.

Video games are not a healthy substitute for therapy. I don’t care how much comfort someone gets from a video game, that doesn’t enable the studio developing the game to prey on those traumas in order to sell copies of their game. It’s amazing how marketing can make predatory ads like that appear normal. It’s advertising a bad message that this is more than a video game but also some sort of therapeutic thing. Hardly a stance this studio should be peddling to kids (who more often than not vastly exaggerate their “trauma”).

I wasn't commenting on the effectiveness of video games as therapy. Just that the purpose of the ad was not to entice players to play in order to seek revenge on their adversaries.

Well she does have a point about “getting revenge” or whatever being explicitly part of the casting call. Hard to deny that.

The video itself is to entice people to buy this game because it will help their problems. That’s the message they are sending. Not “hey this game is so much fun!” Instead it’s along the lines of “I was bullied, I did not fit in, I was different and Sims fixed that”. I don’t care what they were trying to do, because what they actually did was make an ad in incredibly poor taste that’s ONLY purpose is to manipulate emotionally fragile people and especially kids into thinking this game will make them happy and fix their self-proclaimed terrible lives. Terrible message to send!

I totally agree the video is to entice people to buy the game. That's the point of marketing.

Where we differ is my perception is that the ad is offering a refuge when real life becomes overwhelming. A temporary escape while you refuel.

So do a lot of better places, and they don't charge.

"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.

The difference between my moral compass and EA's? Hey kids tell us about how you made your friends and put them in the game and 'got even with them'. That's EA's new ad.

My moral compass, no, I have never made anyone I know in real life to put in game to get even with them. Even I have my principles. Now, who has the moral highground?

It never ceases to amaze me how some can totally misrepresent things to suit their own narrative. The purpose of the new ad is to reach out to those who may be dealing with challenges and allow those players to feel comfortable with whatever scenario that brings them pain in real life. Not to exact revenge on anyone.

Video games are not a healthy substitute for therapy. I don’t care how much comfort someone gets from a video game, that doesn’t enable the studio developing the game to prey on those traumas in order to sell copies of their game. It’s amazing how marketing can make predatory ads like that appear normal. It’s advertising a bad message that this is more than a video game but also some sort of therapeutic thing. Hardly a stance this studio should be peddling to kids (who more often than not vastly exaggerate their “trauma”).

I wasn't commenting on the effectiveness of video games as therapy. Just that the purpose of the ad was not to entice players to play in order to seek revenge on their adversaries.

Well she does have a point about “getting revenge” or whatever being explicitly part of the casting call. Hard to deny that.

The video itself is to entice people to buy this game because it will help their problems. That’s the message they are sending. Not “hey this game is so much fun!” Instead it’s along the lines of “I was bullied, I did not fit in, I was different and Sims fixed that”. I don’t care what they were trying to do, because what they actually did was make an ad in incredibly poor taste that’s ONLY purpose is to manipulate emotionally fragile people and especially kids into thinking this game will make them happy and fix their self-proclaimed terrible lives. Terrible message to send!

I totally agree the video is to entice people to buy the game. That's the point of marketing.

Where we differ is my perception is that the ad is offering a refuge when real life becomes overwhelming. A temporary escape while you refuel.

No we don’t differ with that view, you just don’t see any issue with it. I’m not going to shame you for that, that’s your opinion, but I find it manipulative and disgusting. It’s hardly sincere, it’s meant to exploit those heavy emotions and get those people to spend money on this game thinking it will solve their problems. A video game is what you make it, the studio isn’t in any position to be advertising running away from your real life problems using this game to make your life perfect. That is not a healthy mindset to peddle to these people and children who already lack confidence in themselves. It’s preying on the weak, but hey some people are fair game right? At least that’s what’s shown when we make exploitative ads like these ok.

The difference between my moral compass and EA's? Hey kids tell us about how you made your friends and put them in the game and 'got even with them'. That's EA's new ad.

My moral compass, no, I have never made anyone I know in real life to put in game to get even with them. Even I have my principles. Now, who has the moral highground?

It never ceases to amaze me how some can totally misrepresent things to suit their own narrative. The purpose of the new ad is to reach out to those who may be dealing with challenges and allow those players to feel comfortable with whatever scenario that brings them pain in real life. Not to exact revenge on anyone.

Video games are not a healthy substitute for therapy. I don’t care how much comfort someone gets from a video game, that doesn’t enable the studio developing the game to prey on those traumas in order to sell copies of their game. It’s amazing how marketing can make predatory ads like that appear normal. It’s advertising a bad message that this is more than a video game but also some sort of therapeutic thing. Hardly a stance this studio should be peddling to kids (who more often than not vastly exaggerate their “trauma”).

I wasn't commenting on the effectiveness of video games as therapy. Just that the purpose of the ad was not to entice players to play in order to seek revenge on their adversaries.

Well she does have a point about “getting revenge” or whatever being explicitly part of the casting call. Hard to deny that.

The video itself is to entice people to buy this game because it will help their problems. That’s the message they are sending. Not “hey this game is so much fun!” Instead it’s along the lines of “I was bullied, I did not fit in, I was different and Sims fixed that”. I don’t care what they were trying to do, because what they actually did was make an ad in incredibly poor taste that’s ONLY purpose is to manipulate emotionally fragile people and especially kids into thinking this game will make them happy and fix their self-proclaimed terrible lives. Terrible message to send!

I totally agree the video is to entice people to buy the game. That's the point of marketing.

Where we differ is my perception is that the ad is offering a refuge when real life becomes overwhelming. A temporary escape while you refuel.

So do a lot of better places, and they don't charge.

And yet more people do and charge the same amount as a EP for a half hour of relaxation. It's all a matter of what you look at.

The difference between my moral compass and EA's? Hey kids tell us about how you made your friends and put them in the game and 'got even with them'. That's EA's new ad.

My moral compass, no, I have never made anyone I know in real life to put in game to get even with them. Even I have my principles. Now, who has the moral highground?

It never ceases to amaze me how some can totally misrepresent things to suit their own narrative. The purpose of the new ad is to reach out to those who may be dealing with challenges and allow those players to feel comfortable with whatever scenario that brings them pain in real life. Not to exact revenge on anyone.

Video games are not a healthy substitute for therapy. I don’t care how much comfort someone gets from a video game, that doesn’t enable the studio developing the game to prey on those traumas in order to sell copies of their game. It’s amazing how marketing can make predatory ads like that appear normal. It’s advertising a bad message that this is more than a video game but also some sort of therapeutic thing. Hardly a stance this studio should be peddling to kids (who more often than not vastly exaggerate their “trauma”).

I wasn't commenting on the effectiveness of video games as therapy. Just that the purpose of the ad was not to entice players to play in order to seek revenge on their adversaries.

Well she does have a point about “getting revenge” or whatever being explicitly part of the casting call. Hard to deny that.

The video itself is to entice people to buy this game because it will help their problems. That’s the message they are sending. Not “hey this game is so much fun!” Instead it’s along the lines of “I was bullied, I did not fit in, I was different and Sims fixed that”. I don’t care what they were trying to do, because what they actually did was make an ad in incredibly poor taste that’s ONLY purpose is to manipulate emotionally fragile people and especially kids into thinking this game will make them happy and fix their self-proclaimed terrible lives. Terrible message to send!

I totally agree the video is to entice people to buy the game. That's the point of marketing.

Where we differ is my perception is that the ad is offering a refuge when real life becomes overwhelming. A temporary escape while you refuel.

So do a lot of better places, and they don't charge.

You're adding a totally unrelated variable to this discussion. Which is about the purpose of the video.